Offensive switch pays off for West in eight-man game
HASTINGS — The change was barely noticeable, but the results were stunning.
When Steven Rust and Bradley Wright moved in a little closer to center Nicholas Fiene, it opened up the running game and the West team piled up 242 yards on the ground in the second half. That allowed the West to pull away for a 33-6 victory Saturday in the 31st annual Sertoma Eight-Man All-Star Classic at the Osborne Family Sports Complex.
“We didn’t change much. Their linebackers were doing a stunt twist, so the guards were trying to look inside first,” said Wright, a graduate of Ewing.
The West had just three first downs in the first half and they all came on its second drive of the game.
After the West defense stopped the East to begin the second half, the offensive changes became very apparent. The West marched 52 yards in 13 plays, the longest a 7-yard run by Cody Childers of Leyton. Fullback Kiefer Burke of Maxwell capped the drive with a 3-yard run, and the West took the lead on the extra-point kick by Nicholas Dukat of Palmer.
“We knew even though they were little plays, they all added up to one big thing,” Wright said.
Burke, who was the state leader in the shot put this spring only to miss the state track and field meet when he had an emergency appendectomy, said this game was payback.
“Now that I’m 100 percent healthy, it’s fun to do this,” said Burke, who plans to walk on at Nebraska to play football.
Childers rushed for 126 yards on 16 carries and was named the most valuable offensive player for the West.
“We just ran more power with Kiefer Burke leading the way,” Childers said. “He was just blowing people out of the way and I just stayed behind him. We kept pounding at them and the line worked really hard and the defense fed off of it.”
West coach Duke Waln of Cody-Kilgore said he and his staff aimed to keep things simple.
“Defensively, we kept it pretty fundamental. We bit on a few inside plays and we told them if they just stayed home, we’d make plays,” Waln said. “We stopped them on defense and then we came right at them on offense — we were going to run the ball, run the ball and then run the ball again.”
The East broke on top in the second quarter when Taylor Baumert of Pawnee City took over at quarterback. He scrambled for 14 yards and then 7 more before he pulled away from a tackler and ran 57 yards to the 2-yard line. Kyle Davis of Shickley took the ball in on the next play for a 6-0 lead.
“They were all biting on the inside plays and I figured I could just get outside and use my speed and see what happened,” Baumert said. “I was spinning around and wasn’t expecting to stay up. So I just took off, running kind of flustered.”
Baumert had 65 yards rushing and added 85 through the air.
“In the first half, it was close, so the defense didn’t know if it was run or pass,” he said. “But when I came into the game in the fourth quarter, they knew we were calling pass. They were dropping a lot of guys and we were only running two routes. It’s hard when they know what’s coming.”
Brad Dvorak of Stuart scored on a 1-yard run on the third play of the fourth quarter. Brett Christensen of Wallace added a 3-yard scoring run, Kyle Giffin of Pleasanton gathered in a 21-yard scoring toss from Adam Snyder of Arapahoe and Taylor Dixon of Wauneta-Palisade scampered 42 yards to complete the West scoring.
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
When Steven Rust and Bradley Wright moved in a little closer to center Nicholas Fiene, it opened up the running game and the West team piled up 242 yards on the ground in the second half. That allowed the West to pull away for a 33-6 victory Saturday in the 31st annual Sertoma Eight-Man All-Star Classic at the Osborne Family Sports Complex.
“We didn’t change much. Their linebackers were doing a stunt twist, so the guards were trying to look inside first,” said Wright, a graduate of Ewing.
The West had just three first downs in the first half and they all came on its second drive of the game.
After the West defense stopped the East to begin the second half, the offensive changes became very apparent. The West marched 52 yards in 13 plays, the longest a 7-yard run by Cody Childers of Leyton. Fullback Kiefer Burke of Maxwell capped the drive with a 3-yard run, and the West took the lead on the extra-point kick by Nicholas Dukat of Palmer.
“We knew even though they were little plays, they all added up to one big thing,” Wright said.
Burke, who was the state leader in the shot put this spring only to miss the state track and field meet when he had an emergency appendectomy, said this game was payback.
“Now that I’m 100 percent healthy, it’s fun to do this,” said Burke, who plans to walk on at Nebraska to play football.
Childers rushed for 126 yards on 16 carries and was named the most valuable offensive player for the West.
“We just ran more power with Kiefer Burke leading the way,” Childers said. “He was just blowing people out of the way and I just stayed behind him. We kept pounding at them and the line worked really hard and the defense fed off of it.”
West coach Duke Waln of Cody-Kilgore said he and his staff aimed to keep things simple.
“Defensively, we kept it pretty fundamental. We bit on a few inside plays and we told them if they just stayed home, we’d make plays,” Waln said. “We stopped them on defense and then we came right at them on offense — we were going to run the ball, run the ball and then run the ball again.”
The East broke on top in the second quarter when Taylor Baumert of Pawnee City took over at quarterback. He scrambled for 14 yards and then 7 more before he pulled away from a tackler and ran 57 yards to the 2-yard line. Kyle Davis of Shickley took the ball in on the next play for a 6-0 lead.
“They were all biting on the inside plays and I figured I could just get outside and use my speed and see what happened,” Baumert said. “I was spinning around and wasn’t expecting to stay up. So I just took off, running kind of flustered.”
Baumert had 65 yards rushing and added 85 through the air.
“In the first half, it was close, so the defense didn’t know if it was run or pass,” he said. “But when I came into the game in the fourth quarter, they knew we were calling pass. They were dropping a lot of guys and we were only running two routes. It’s hard when they know what’s coming.”
Brad Dvorak of Stuart scored on a 1-yard run on the third play of the fourth quarter. Brett Christensen of Wallace added a 3-yard scoring run, Kyle Giffin of Pleasanton gathered in a 21-yard scoring toss from Adam Snyder of Arapahoe and Taylor Dixon of Wauneta-Palisade scampered 42 yards to complete the West scoring.
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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